The University of the Free State (UFS), Kovsies will travel this week for the first time in the 2022 edition of Varsity Football when they head to Mafikeng to take on the North-West University (NWU) in round two.
UFS got their campaign off to an outstanding start in Bloemfontein last week with a solid 3-0 win over the University of Pretoria, Tuks at Shimla Park. While the Free Staters collected three points in front of their home fans, they know that there was work-on, and they are also well aware that repeating this feat against NWU will be a whole different ball game.
One thing that UFS did very well last week Thursday was to pile the pressure on during their offensive plays, and they will be looking to do even better this week.
90-minute performance is something that will also be on the agenda as they enter their final phases of preparation before heading to the North-West.
The biggest aspect of the upcoming game for UFS is not to be complacent and underestimate their opponents. NWU got their campaign off to a good start as well by beating Wits 2-1 in Johannesburg – and this will certainly have given them that extra confidence as they prepare to host last year’s runners-up.
UFS captain, Thapello Madrati – who has a big presence in the park – feels that NWU are very similar to them and they know that they will be made to work hard come Thursday night.
“They have had a good run over the past few years and we cannot afford to underestimate them. They are a good team and have a similar structure to us. They are a good running team that can go pound-for-pound with the best,” he said.
The defender added that to take points back home they will have to be a lot more confident with the ball and they will also have to show resilience as they won’t have their fans pitch-side to back them when the going gets tough.
“There are certain things that we have taken from the game against UP-Tuks to work on during training,” Madrati added.
“I want the guys to be a lot more confident with the ball and to keep more possession. We need to play the way we normally do, as opposed to kicking the ball around everywhere.
“Going into this game against NWU we want to do more of that and show confidence in an away fixture. We will be up against a lot of stuff, such as their fans.
“We want to put pressure on them by exploiting spaces on the field. Then we also must be more resilient on the pitch and give it our all to get the victory.”
Thursday evening’s round two fixture between the rival varsities at the Mafikeng Stadium will kick off at 18:30.
You can get information on how to get tickets here .
By Morgan Piek
